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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26982352">hello pumpkin</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/legendbehavior/pseuds/legendbehavior'>legendbehavior</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Apex Legends (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Halloween, Halloween Costumes, M/M, Old Town Mirage | Elliott Witt, Vampire Crypto | Park Tae Joon, idk i'll update the tags as i update the fic, no beta reader we die like men, this is entirely self-indulgent but if you like it too...nice</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 03:34:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,180</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26982352</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/legendbehavior/pseuds/legendbehavior</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Elliott throws the best parties in the outlands, the Legends get together for Halloween.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Crypto | Park Tae Joon/Mirage | Elliott Witt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>hello pumpkin</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Cryptage singlehandedly pulled me out of my writing dry spell. Their power... unmatched. And it's almost Halloween, so why not a little in-costume-fucking?</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The music that permeated the air was just loud enough to make the individual conversations around the room fade into a dull roar and the colorful lights flashed in sync with the beats. No doubt a product of the engineers putting their heads together for long enough to get this thing planned and executed. 'This thing' being Elliott Witt's Halloween party, of course. Costumes required. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Well, look who actually showed up. Now we can </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>get this party started." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tae Joon turned to look over his shoulder and his line of sight was instantly met with Elliott in full cowboy gear. He wouldn't have expected anything less. Witt was always over-the-top in everything he did, why would his Halloween costume be any different? Of course, the hacker didn't have much room to speak, his own costume was complete with realistic fangs and an impressive amount of face paint. A drink of unknown contents was being passed to him and he took it with a curious look before glancing back up at Elliot. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I figured I might as well see what all of the hype was about. Nice costume. What's in this?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Thanks! You too. Pond slime. A little of this, a little of that. Nothing too ela- elabor- too complicated. It's really good, trust me. If there's anyone to trust with your drinks, it's this guy."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Elliott's cheesy smile wasn't exactly convincing in itself, and Tae Joon eyed the green drink cautiously once more before lifting the cup a bit and taking a sip through the little straw stuck through the green foam. Not bad. Good, even, but Tae Joon just gave a small nod in satisfaction before a hand clapped over his shoulder. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"See? Told you so."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yah. Have you not learned a lesson about touching me when I'm not expecting it?" Tae Joon quipped, his free hand wrapping around Elliott's wrist to pull his hand away before releasing his grip. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Ow. Right, sorry," Elliott gave Tae Joon a sheepish look and rubbed his wrist as he brought his hand back to himself. "Thanks for not, y'know, breaking my arm." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Next time you may not be so lucky," Tae Joon's words sounded harsh, but the little smile tugging playfully at the corner of his lips suggested that he was really just messing with Witt. He was. Mostly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Elliott let out an unsure laugh, interrupted by Octavio zooming past them followed by Ajay with a shock stick in hand and a furrowed brow. "Oh boy," he puffed his cheeks as he contemplated following them to see how that played out, but ultimately decided on staying put. "Eh. They'll be fine. Listen, I'm in charge of drinks so if you need a refill or want something different, come find me. The uh- </span>
  <em>
    <span>real </span>
  </em>
  <span>me. I put some decoys out for decoration."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"For decoration," Tae Joon commented, his eyes scanning the room and noting at least three in sight, just lounging against walls and furniture.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yup. I'm sure I'll bump into you later, I'll be around," Elliot tipped his cowboy hat in Tae Joon's direction before turning away from him and heading back towards the bar.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The chaps on Elliott's costume were cut out in all the right places, not that Tae Joon was looking. At least he wouldn't admit to looking. Elliott looked good in anything and he knew it, so even if Tae Joon </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> looking a little, he was sure he wasn't the only one. Once he looked away, he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. He was still pretty distant from most of the legends, and he had no interest in mingling with strangers. Walking around was better than just standing around looking lost, right? So he started doing that instead, just people-watching. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Renee was twirling a giggling Natalie around on the dance floor, both of them wearing bigger smiles than he'd ever seen on them in the past. He hoped to patch things up with Natalie one day, but that would be a conversation for another time. Loba and Anita were having a hushed conversation in the corner, seemingly immune to the world around them. Pathfinder, Ramya, and Makoa appeared to be trying to recruit more people to dance while Nox and Revenant worked on evading them. With everyone else accounted for, Tae Joon had to assume the jack-o-lantern masked DJ was Bloodhound. Everyone seemed to have a place they fit. Which was fine. It's not like he came to the games to make friends anyway. So why did seeing everyone click so well, even the newbie, make an unknown feeling settle in his chest? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wasn't lonely. No. Trusting the others, getting too close, that would be a mistake. It wasn't as if he could be honest with them, the Crypto these people knew was a completely made-up persona. An act, nothing more. Alone was safe. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After wandering around for a while and successfully dodging being pulled out to the floor to dance, Tae Joon settled at a decorated table that had a view of the bar where Elliott was mixing and passing out drinks so diligently. He may seem like an idiot most of the time, but Tae Joon noticed that where it counted, Witt paid attention, and if he set his mind to it he was able to learn things fairly quickly. It was most obvious when it came to the holo-tech Elliott used in the ring, seemingly some new upgrade or another each season or even quicker than that. Tae Joon wouldn’t admit it to his face, but Elliott impressed him sometimes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tae Joon hadn’t even noticed he’d been staring until Elliott’s eyes met his own from across the room. The combination of a smug smile and a wink from him was enough to bring a heat to Tae Joon’s cheeks which he hoped was hidden by the thick foundation of his makeup as he turned his head away and lifted a hand to the side of his face in a poor attempt to hide. He didn’t want to bring attention to himself, but it seemed that was exactly what he was doing. A bit of relief washed over him when he peeked through his fingers and Elliott’s interest had moved elsewhere. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thank the powers that be for Mirage’s microscopic attention span. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just a few more hours of… whatever this was he was doing. Tae Joon figured he could manage that for the sake of avoiding the barrage of ‘where-were-you’s if he hadn’t made an appearance at all. Sometimes it felt like half of being a Legend was just that. Appearances. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sure, there was inside the ring. But outside you have the fans, the interviews, the press tours. Everything that went against the shroud of secrecy Tae Joon tried to keep over himself. Occasionally he found it slipping and would have to pull it back up again. Like now, with Elliott and his stupid flirtatious gestures. Tae Joon knew he shouldn’t allow them to get under his skin, but here he was, taking glances when he thought the other wasn’t looking.</span>
</p>
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